You can still be “The Future of Southern California,” as your city’s motto promises, but it won’t be easy.

There’s no denying that Murrieta, incorporated in 1991, is one of the fastest-growing places in the state. Your population has quadrupled to more than 100,000 over the past quarter-century. More than 30 percent of your residents are children. And you’ve embraced a growth strategy based on encouraging people around the world to invest there.

But then came the Central American refugee crisis, and the self-destructive decision by more than a few of your citizens to immerse your city in one of the country’s divisive, hateful political debates.

The scene outside your U.S. Border Patrol station introduced Murrieta to much of the world. It was an ugly greeting. A small but nasty group of protesters blocked the entrance for buses carrying refugees, and the Border Patrol turned the buses around. Comments by local politicians opposing the processing of refugees in your town and hateful statements by citizens at a town meeting cemented a nasty image.

That nasty image is, of course, unfair. Many of the protesters weren’t from Murrieta. And the media-amplified comments of a small number of citizens shouldn’t color our judgment of the 107,000 people living in your diverse, growing community. But at the same time, the lack of aggressive pushback by civic leaders against the protests raises legitimate questions not merely about the heart of the town, but about your collective brain.

Because to know Murrieta is to understand that there are few places in California as dependent on having a welcoming reputation as your city.

After all, most of you are refugees — from coastal California’s high housing prices, from fears of crime in other communities, or from problems in your home countries (14 percent of Murrietans are foreign-born).

And your local economy needs more people to keep growing.

None of this is news to the more enlightened among you, who understand how important your global orientation is. Your city’s website features a video boasting that three of Murrieta’s City Council members and two top administrators have lived overseas. Your location — 80 miles from both Mexico and the Port of L.A. — should help you benefit from expanded global trade.

And ironically, given recent events, your economic development relies heavily on attracting new immigrants. With bank financing hard to secure and redevelopment eliminated by the state, your city has turned to the federal government’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which grants green cards to foreigners who invest between $500,000 and $1 million here. Across the street from your City Hall, the Olivewood development was made possible by more than 20 such investors from China and other Asian countries who are now green card holders.

In this context, the lack of a quick, decisive response to the anti-refugee protests and rhetoric looks like self-sabotage. To restore your essential reputation for openness, you must come together to make clear to the world that Murrieta unequivocally empathizes with the refugees, wants protesters seeking to score cheap political points off a humanitarian tragedy to stay away, and supports the authorities doing what they must do without interference.

Remember: Just as it is unfair to judge Murrieta by its least welcoming voices, it is unfair to make blanket statements about those who come across our borders. All Californians should treat these refugees with respect, and allow them to have their cases heard.

That’s not merely the humanitarian response; it’s the adult one. Your city is now 23 years old. It’s time for the Future of Southern California to grow up.

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